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MEMORIAL 



HIRAM WALBRIDGE. 



'And thus he bore without abuse 
The grand old name of Gentleman. 1 



PHILADELPHIA: 
COLLINS, PRINTER, 705 JAYNE STREET. 

1871. 






MEMORIAL 



It is the month of December. There is a new- 
made grave at Grlenwood Cemetery over which 
the snowflakes are weaving their, wintry pall. 
Around this grave were recently assembled the 
President of the United States and his cabinet 
ministers, honorable senators and representatives 
in Congress, the General of the army, and many 
other persons eminent in various walks of life 
from different sections of the Union. 

Children were there, whose blameless lives had 
felt the sunshine of a living presence they should 
behold no more ; young men and maidens, paus- 
ing upon life's threshold and awed by this close 
look into the inevitable future : but, more than all, 
the middle-aged and old — strong men and tender 
women — who realized that one more link was 
broken in the chain which bound them to the 
things of life, stood reverently by, while all that 
remained of Hiram AValbridge passed from their 
sight forever. 



The representatives of the power and dignity of 
the Republic united with those whose ties of 
family and friendship had been rudely sundered 
by the hand of death, in paying the last sad tri- 
bute of respect to a citizen of the Republic. 

No official etiquette required their presence. He 
whom they mourned was carried to his tomb with 
no insignia of departed power or position. In- 
stead of the trappings which add pomp and cir- 
cumstance to the obsequies of the great, his coffin 
bore only woven ehaplets of fragile flowers, tender 
emblems of the affection of them whose hands had 
gently laid them there. 

Stern warriors who had faced the dangers of a 
hundred battle-fields, and whose fame belongs to 
history; great statesmen whose voices have given 
laws to their country and form to her destiny; 
friends from near and afar, young, middle-aged, 
and old — all were subdued in this never-to-be-for- 
gotten presence. 

It was the tribute of affection to gentleness — of 
friendship to true-heartedness — of power to intel- 
lect — of all to character. 

Hiram Walbridge was a gentleman. 

In all the relations of life he conducted himself 
with a due regard for the rights and feelings of 
others. As son. husband, brother, friend, coun- 
sellor, or companion he measured up to the best 
classic models. His parents did not. precede him 



so long ago but that his filial devotion to them in 
their old age is well remembered by many. His 
widow and brothers survive to bear their own tes- 
timony to his goodness. As a friend, he was true 
and brave — cautious in judgment, but fearless in 
action. In social intercourse he was cordial with- 
out familiarity, had rare tact, and was a most 
agreeable companion. 

His abilities were such as must have com- 
manded great influence in public position; and, 
as it was, achieved for him a national reputation 
without the adventitious aid of oflSce. Although 
he had never held but two official positions in his 
life, and they both of a representative character, 
for a short period of time, yet he possessed great 
public influence. 

It Avas the force of his character that raised 
him, without assistance, from modest beginnings, 
a character which was fairly illustrated by his 
friend Mr. Greeley when he stated to the Presi- 
dent that General "Wal bridge came to New York 
a poor young man, but " when he was not worth 
five hundred dollars in the world, his word was 
worth as many thousand." His views of public 
duty were broad, comprehensive, and liberal, and 
no man appreciated more thoroughly than he the 
resources of our country and the possibilities of 
its future. His mind took real delight in contem- 
plating them, and his tongue grew eloquent with 





enthusiasm as he enlarged upon them. The 
building oi' a railway to the Pacific Ocean was a 
project that enlisted his earnest support long 
before its feasibility was conceded by many, and 
he not only went to San Francisco in 1853 to 
attend the first convention held in furtherance of 
that object, but was, if not the first, among the 
first of its champions in Congress. 

As a merchant, he paid great attention to the 
laws of trade, and espoused with zeal whatever 
tended to develop American commerce. He en- 
couraged, by all the means within his reach, in- 
creased facilities of transit and transportation, 
and was the firm friend of internal improvements 
long before the expanding system of to-day was 
thought of. Even that system was in his appre- 
hension far behind the requirements of the times, 
and its own capacity for improvement. Among 
his favorite themes, was the building of grand 
trunk railways for freight, connecting the interior 
with the seaboard, upon which, at uniform rate of 
speed, producers and buyers could ship the teem- 
ing produce of the country in cars of their own. 

Nor did he confine his interest to internal faci- 
lities of commerce alone, but in bis short Con- 
gressional career he introduced measures for the 
protection of American vessels on the high seas, 
for the improvement of the navy, and the enlarge- 
ment of the rights of neutrals in time ol war. 



He studied with care the policies of foreign 
powers, and made himself acquainted with their 
motives and ohjccts, always manifesting great 
interest in the rivalries of the mighty contestants 
for the trade and dominion of Asia and the Orient. 

He endeavored to elevate and dignify his calling 
as a merchant, by identifying it with the progres- 
sive movements of the age, helped to organize 
and utilize commercial conventions, and projected 
the National Board of Trade. 

His talents and energy carried him into assured 
position early in life, and his name had so long 
been before the people in conjunction with the 
movements above mentioned, that when he died 
1 hey were surprised at the statement of his age. 
He had not yet completed his fiftieth year. When 
this was told General Sherman, that distinguished 
hero exclaimed, " Why, he has accomplished more 
in that time than most men eonld in a hundred 
years." 

All over the Union General Walbridge lias 
friends, and it is thought that a short memoir, 
setting forth the chief points of his life and cha- 
racter, may not prove unacceptable to them, while 
it may serve to commemorate a name little likely 
to fade from their recollection. One who had the 
honor to enjoy his confidence, who cherished his 
friendship, and who received his last letter invit- 
ing him to a trip across the continent, proposed 



8 

for the very day of his decease, takes a melancholy 
pleasure in contributing - at least so much to his 
memory. 

Hiram Walbridge was born at Athaca, New 
York, on the second day of February, 1821. His 
father, Chester Walbridge, and his mother, Mary 
Walbridge, were both of New England origin, 
and General Walbridge, who fought at the battle 
of Bennington, was his ancestor. His parents 
moved to Ohio when Hiram was quite young, and 
at the a£'e of eighteen he entered the Ohio Uni- 
versity, when a characteristic incident, however, 
sin ui terminated his collegiate career. Although 
of Democratic tendencies, he had, from personal 
intercourse, become warmly attached to General 
William Henry Harrison, avIio was selected as the 
Whig candidate for the Presidency in IS 10. 
With Hiram's warm and impulsive nature it was 
easier to resist party than personal attachments, so 
he espoused the cause of the Hero of Tippecanoe, 
and accepted an invitation to speak in his behalf 
at a political meeting. This was contrary to 
school discipline, and therefore forbidden; but 
Hiram complied with his engagement, and took 
the consecpiences. In the midst of his speech, 
while addressing himself with great earnestness to 
his audience, he was informed that he had been 
expelled for disobedience. This was a hard blow, 



but it caused no outward perturbation. A trait 
inherited from his mother, and which in after life 
often manifested itself in the midst of trial and 
suffering, stood him in need here. He had great 
fortitude, and would have heard far worse news 
without a sign of dismay. He only threw more 
fervor into his speech, more eloquence into his 
language, and carried his audience to the height 
of enthusiasm for their candidate. They greeted 
the young orator with a. perfect ovation. He went 
back to the University, packed his trunk, and re- 
turned home, hut afterwards finished his education 
elsewhere. 

At the age of fourteen, in consequence of diffi- 
culty in procuring a teacher, he took charge of the 
district school for about six months, without 
compensation. He studied law with Judge Til- 
den, and was admitted to the bar, but did nut 
follow the legal profession as a business. His 
residence during this period was at Toledo, Ohio, 
where one of his brothers now resides, and where 
General Walbridge maintained an interest until 
his death. He was elected alderman of that city ; 
and in 1844, he was commissioned Brigadier 
General of the Ohio militia, whence the title by 
which he has been so generally distinguished. 

He took an active part in the presidential 
canvass of 1844, advocating the election of James 
I\. I'olk, the Democratic nominee, and became 

2 



10 

very popular as a speaker. During the Mexican 
war, which shortly afterwards took place, he was 
tendered a commission as colonel, but declined it 
for the purpose of entering- into business in iSTew 
York. In this he met with extraordinary success, 
and established an enviable reputation. He was 
an excellent judge of men, and confident of his 
own powers. These qualities rapidly enlarged 
his acquaintance and gave force to his action. 
There was no hesitation about him. "What he did, 
he did with all his might, determined to bring it 
to a successful issue. His habits were methodi- 
cal, and he attended carefully to the details of his 
business, but his mind was of that scope that, 
whatever he undertook must have magnitude. 

At no period of his life did he lose his inter- 
est in public affairs in this country or in Europe. 
The struggles of the Hungarians and French 
Republicans in 1848 awakened his liveliest sym- 
pathies, as the annals of the times bear ample 
I i'st imony. General Walbridge was a warm friend 
of Kossuth, and remembered that when that great 
leader and his fellow exiles had a price set upon 
their heads, the Sultan of Turkey gave them hos- 
pitable welcome at the risk of a war with his 
powerful foes, Kussia and Austria. 

In 1851 he visited Europe, and represented the 
American minister by request, at the entertain- 
ment given by the leading public men of England 



11 

to Kossuth, to whom General Walbridge presented 
a copy of the Constitution of the United States 
and of Washington's Farewell Address; the 
latter of which became a fatal gift because of 
the attempt of the Hungarian leader to indicate a 
different foreign policy from that upheld by Wash- 
ington. 

General Walbridge availed himself of the 
favorable opportunities then offered to become 
acquainted with the leading statesmen and men 
of note in Europe, and to observe the practical 
workings of monarchical institutions. His expe- 
riences abroad during this very interesting period, 
covering the events of Louis Napoleon's cu///> 
d'etat, were varied and in some instances remarka- 
ble, forming the groundwork of many an enter- 
taining conversation with friends in after life. 
Among other incidents, perhaps the most exciting 
was that in which he took the American mode of 
compelling a fraudulent agent in London to 
deliver up a very large amount of money belong- 
ing to him. He had engaged as secretary and 
business man a former private secretary of King 
Louis Philippe, whose keen eye for his own inte- 
rest rather blinded him to that of his employer. 
This man having in his possession, with evident in- 
tent to abscond, one hundred thousand dollars be- 
longing to General Walbridge, the latter waited in 
his room until midnight, captured him, locked the 



11' 

dour, and put the key in his pocket, and then, with 
revolver in hand, demanded settlement or death. 
The man succumbed. The moral courage requi- 
site to the performance of such an act in London, 
with a subtle, accomplished, and extraordinary 
antagonist, can hardly he appreciated without 
reciting 1 details which cannot find room here. 
There were probably very few of General Wal- 
bridge's friends who knew of this incident or who 
credited him with the possession of those traits of 
character necessary to its performance. Beneath 
an amiable exterior there lay in him a strength of 
will which few possess. 

In 1853 he was elected as a Representative in 
Congress from New York city, and immediately 
thereafter took a trip to California, returning time 
enough to take his seat, with a fund of informa- 
tion regarding the Pacific coast, in addition to 
that acquired abroad. His representative career 
was honorable and successful. Every measure 
calculated to promote the commerce of the coun- 
try or develop its resources received his support, 
and he upheld the Union in its entirety with undi- 
vided heart. He was eminently patriotic at all 
times, and his devotion to the Republic was not 
mere lip service, but heart sentiment as well as 
fixed principle. With such views, he of course 
sustained the credit of the government. 

When the Crimean war broke out, involving the 



13 

three great powers of England, France, and Rus- 
sia, as well as Turkey, General Walbridge thought 
the time had come for the United States to declare 
the rights of neutrals, and he introduced in the 
House of Representatives resolutions setting 
forth that "'The United States as a maritime 
power, having neutral rights to maintain, deem it 
proper to declare and make known that every 
American vessel engaged in the lawful pursuits 
of commerce is held by this government to be 
protected by the flag which covers her," and that 
" any attempt to enforce an absolute right of im- 
prisonment, secret detention or irritation in regard 
to such American ship, will be regarded as an act 
of hostility towards the United States, and just 
cause of war." 

The adoption of this policy by our government 
would have obviated the unfortunate affair of the 
San Jacinto, and perhaps have permanently en- 
larged the rights of neutrals, in which we are. as 
much, if not more, interested than any other 
nation. Such rights have certainly been since 
assumed against us, and there is no good reason 
why the United States should continue to operate, 
within narrower restrictions than other powers. 
Time, therefore, only served to strengthen Gene- 
ral Walbridge in the principles he then advocated, 
and it is probable they will yet become established 
international laAV. 



14 

With ;t view of making the United States as 
powerful on the ocean as they confessedly are on 
land, General "Walbridge elaborated a plan for 
making- the commercial marine an adjunct to the 
naval forces of the country, hj organizing what 
he aptly termed the "Militia of the Seas;' This 
measure he proposed in 1856, in a speech delivered 
at Tammany Hall, and it is an evidence alike of 
his clearness of perception and the hold he bad 
upon public opinion at that time, that although he 
held no official position through which to enforce 
his views, they were copied with approbation by 
journals of every shade of political opinion in 
America, were editorially discussed and adopted 
as in a large measure applicable to England by 
the London Times, and furnished the suggestion 
for several salutary reforms in the British navy. 

In this speech, which w r as forcible and states- 
manlike throughout, he developed a plan of naval 
reorganization which, if it bad been adopted, would 
have utterly prevented the destruction of Ame- 
rican commerce by European privateers during 
the late rebellion. It would have Americanized 
our navy, and infused into it some of the progress 
and vitality characteristic of our republican insti- 
tutions. The following extract will serve to indi- 
cate the general purport of his views on that sub- 
ject :— 

"Suggestions that seek to make radical changes 



15 

should always bo advanced with hesitation and 
distrust; } T et all great improvements in govern- 
ment have heretofore sprung from the experience 
of the people themselves, who are usually in ad- 
vance of their rulers in whatever most concerns 
their own prosperity and welfare. The General 
Government should hold out some inducements to 
our great commercial marine to aid in protecting 
itself. Under the sanction of law, with ample 
guards and i*estrictions, there should he organized 
a militia navy, an arm of defence corresponding 
to that employed by the Government in the land 
service, under our enrolled militia system, by 
which ship-owners should receive encouragement 
and aid by law in construction of their vessels, so 
as to make them capable of bearing guns if 
required in the service of their country. The 
captains and subordinate officers should be com- 
missioned in the name of the General Government, 
upon some equitable plan that will give them 
rank and emolument in proportion to the demands 
upon their time and service in the new capacity of 
representing the naval power of the Union. The 
humblest youth who enters as a cabin-boy, or in 
the lowest capacity as a seaman, should be edu- 
cated and trained in his honorable though adven- 
turous and dangerous profession, that not only in 
the navy proper, but in this new service, the naval 
powers of the Union will be represented. 



1G 

" Our noble Empire State, second to none, but 
foremost of all, this great commercial emporium, 
the scat of energy, enterprise, and commercial 
power, are felt and acknowledged throughout the 
world, have a right to he heard, upon this, as upon 
all questions affecting the trade and prosperity of 
the Union. New York demands the recognition 
and absolute immunity from such a detention of 
our flag upon the high seas ; that her commerce 
and expanding trade should be left unshackled by 
unwise restraints of legislation; and then, with 
her resources in every department of industry, in 
agriculture, in manufactures, in commerce, and 
trade, she will vindicate her pre-eminence and 
power in the great family circle of free and in- 
dependent States that constitute our National 
Union." 

When General Walbridge entered Congress he 
was a comparatively wealthy man, and felt justified 
in withdrawing from business so as to devote his 
whole attention to his representative duties. He 
intrusted the bulk of his fortune in the shape of 
ready money without security into the hands of a 
friend, in whose judgment and integrity he re- 
posed implicit confidence. Before his first term 
expired he lost every dollar of it, and felt com- 
pelled to abandon politics for business again. 
Hence, when the Democrats of his district ten- 
dered him a renomination he declined it, and 



17 

renewed business immediately to endeavor to 
recover from his serious losses. He was not the 
man to he disheartened, he never for a moment 
desponded ; and before a great while he was more 
prosperous than ever. 

Such was his public spirit, however, that while 
he felt constrained to decline official position, he 
took an active part in all the great movements of 
his day. Having again secured leisure by assured 
success, he gave up a great deal of his time to the 
niaintainance of the Union, before and during the 
rebellion. lie was a supporter of Stephen A. 
Douglas for the Presidency in the election of 
I860, and fully sympathized in that distin- 
guished leader's devotion to the Union. When 
war actually came he assisted in organizing the 
War Democracy, and arraying them on the side 
of the administration. He comprehended the 
issues involved and the real magnitude of the 
struggle, and at once advocated putting the 
country on a war footing for not less than three 
years, with an enrolment of six hundred thousand 
men. Experience demonstrated the wisdom of his 
suggestions ; but few were prepared to adopt them 
when iirst put forth in May, 1861. President 
Lincoln, with whom he established intimate and 
confidential relations, acknowledged his indebted- 
ness to General Wal bridge in a note dated No- 
vember 18, 1861, not only fur the suggestions of 



IS 

largely increased forces before his own mind be- 
came convinced of their necessity, but also for first 
pointing out to him the strategic importance of 
Port Royal and Beaufort. Through the influence 
thus established he secured the acceptance of ten 
Massachusetts regiments, and a battery of artil- 
lery, when it was feared they might prove super- 
fluous, for which he afterwards received public 
thanks. General Cameron, Secretary of War, 
formally tendered him a commission as Brigadier- 
General, which he declined; and President Lin- 
coln personally offered to make him a Major- 
General, and this he also declined. But his labor 
Avas unremitting in his chosen field of operations, 
that of keeping public opinion up to the support 
of the government during its long and arduous 
struggle. He was an effective speaker, and in 
the darkest days of 18(32, his voice was heard at 
the Cooper Institute declaring that New York 
would never abandon the government till, after 
quelling treason at home, it could present itself 
as a great, powerful, and united nation, capable 
of commanding and enforcing respect the world 
over. He travelled from State to State, kept up 
an extensive correspondence with governors and 
leading men, and gave his whole heart and time 
to his country, until victory finally perched upon 
the banner of an undivided republic. 

Regarding the rebellion as a revolutionary 



19 

movement in behalf of slavery, and emancipation 
as the only just solution of the war problem, he 
became allied with the Republican party, and an 
advocate of reconstruction on a free-labor basis, 
instead of restoration on the basis proclaimed by 
President Johnson, which would have left the 
laboring element of the South at the mercy of the 
landed and privileged classes. 

He advocated General U. S. Grant's election to 
the Presidency, and was a warm personal friend 
of that gentleman, as well as earnest supporter of 
his administration to the day of his death. 

In the summer of 1865, General "Walbridge 
made a tour of the west, and was received more 
like an eminent public personage than a private 
citizen. He discussed questions of commerce and 
internal improvement at various cities, and the 
press reproduced them and commented upon them 
at as great length and with as much care as is 
usually bestowed upon state papers of import- 
ance. He was elected President of the Interna- 
tional Commercial Convention, which assembled 
at Detroit on the 11th July, 18G5, and was promi- 
nent in every similar convention except the last 
held since that time. An able sketch of General 
Walbridge, which appeared in Hunt's Merchant's 
Magazine of January, 1800, concludes with the 
following just tribute to his character : — 

"Imperfect as this sketch necessarily is, enough 



20 

has been given to show the genius of the man. 
He is, perhaps, one of the best instances of 
American versatility now living. He would 
have made a good lawyer, but could never consent 
to be a pettifogger; he would aspire to be a 
statesman, but would refuse to be a mere politi- 
cian ; he is a merchant, but would not readily 
consent to transact the petty details of an insig- 
nificant business. He loves to plan on a large 
scale, to do things boldly, and he would rage 
in inactivity. He is jealous of bis honor, and 
despises meanness. Possessing a large social 
nature, liberal, ambitious of honorable distinction, 
he is an earnest friend, a genial companion, and a 
public-spirited citizen, and active in every enter- 
prise which he undertakes. He is in the prime of 
life, and, if spared, will yet occupy a prominent 
place in our country, having already succeeded in 
identifying himself closely with its history." 

The last sentence of this paragraph was a pro- 
phecy, only limited by the two little words " if 
spared/" Was there presentiment in this? Who 
knows? Alas! he was not " spared." 

Just as the hour had struck for its fulfilment — 
just as they who knew him most, and therefore 
loved him best, felt sure that the time had come 
for him to exert his best influence on the affairs of 
the country where it would be felt, the messenger 
came whom all men must obey. It is useless to 



2\ 

dwell on the never-dying theme, "What mighl 
have been." It was not ! 

Let us so live that when the inevitable hour 
comes and we are called, we too may go to our 
last resting-place, honored and loved, because we 
are like him. 

J. J. S. 

Baltimore, December, 1870. 



£2, (31 

Of (Obsequies. 



<& 



The following account of the obsequies of General Wal- 
bbidge is taken from the " National Republican" newspaper 
of Washington, D. C, dated December 12th, 1870:— 

The funeral of General Hiram "Walbbidge 
took place on Saturday afternoon, according- to 
announcement, from the family homestead at 
Ingleside to the cemetery of Glenwood. 

Throughout the forenoon, carriages from the 
city kept rolling out Fourteenth Street, past 
Columbia College, and into the beautiful grounds 
that surround the Ingleside mansion. There was 
a something meet and consonant with the mourn- 
ful character of the occasion in the heaps of dead 
and dying leaves that lined the winding avenues 
and strewed the spreading lawns ; and in the 
bleakness of the unfoliaged trees and the solemn 
stillness of the scene the house of death appeared 
to stand amid appropriate surroundings. Ingle- 
side, in its summer glories, is the chief rural 
gem that encircles the city of Washington. 



21 

In the ample space between the high pine trees 
and near the stables, the carriages were parked, 
while the services in the house were being per- 
formed. 

DISTINGUISHED ATTENDANCE. 

Carriage after carriage drove up to the pillared 
portico in rapid succession, and of those who de- 
scended were the President and Secretaries Fish, 
Bontwell, Delano, Belknap, Robeson, and Attor- 
ney-General Ackerman; Senators Sherman and 
Thurman, of Ohio; Fenton, of New York; Har- 
lan, of Iowa; Representative Cobb, Treasurer 
Spinner, Colonel II. D. Faulkner, and General 
Alfred Pleasonton, of New York; Hon. J. J. 
Stewart, of Baltimore ; Colonel John T. Pickett, 
of Kentucky; Judge Watterson, of Tennessee; 
D. P. Brown and family, Mrs. Dr. Gnrley, B. T. 
Swartz and family, Governor Wright, Mr. and 
Mis. Dunbar, and Mrs. General Sherman. 

Col. A. II. Jackson, who married a step-daugh- 
ter of the General's, attended to the duty of re- 
ceiving those who came, and to the general super- 
intendence of the family arrangements, in which 
he was perfectly successful. Of the family ami 
relatives who were present, were Messrs. Horace S. 
and Heman 1 >. "Walbridge, brothers of the General, 
Mr. Charles B. Blake and wife, Dr. Philips and 
wile. Mrs. Walbridge, dressed in deep mourning, 



25 

was supported throughout the sorrowing cere- 
mony by the brothers of the deceased. All the 
rooms upon the first floor were thrown open, and 
every seat was occupied hy the time the funeral 
services were begun. In a carpeted, richly fur- 
nished room, oft' the vestibule, the remains of the 
< reneral were laid out. 

THE REMAINS. 

The body was inclosed in one of Fish's metallic 
caskets, in imitation of rosewood, heavily mounted 
with silver, and bearing the following inscription : 
"Hiram AValbridge, died December (3, aged 49 
years," and was placed in the saloon parlor. The 
lid of the coffin Avas one muss of flowers, the 
gifts of General N. P. Banks and others ; Hon. 
Horace Greeley also laid a beautiful floral testi- 
monial at the foot of the coffin of his friend. In 
the same room was a full-length likeness of the 
deceased, taken in the crimson flush of his hopeful 
and brilliant life. 

At one o'clock the order of ceremonies began 
by the entrance from an adjacent room into the 
one where the corpse was lying of the following 
pall-bearers: General Sherman, Horace Greeley, 
Secretary Boutwell, Senators Nye, Wilson, and 
Fenton, Speaker Blaine, General Butler, Judge 



20 

Casey, Representatives Banks and Peck, and Col- 
lector Murphy, of New York. 

IN THE CHAMBER OF MOURNING. 

The President, Cabinet, and pall-hearers, to- 
gether with the family and relatives of the de- 
ceased, were seated in a kind of semicircle in the 
saloon parlor, at the head of which, near appropri- 
ately draped tables, stood the officiating clergy- 
man, Rev. Mr. Buck, pastor of Rock Creek 
church, and Rev. Dr. Samson. Mr. Buck read 
the beautiful service for the dead of the Episcopal 
Church, and was followed by Dr. Samson with 
the following discourse : — 



•27 



THE SEKMON. 

Fuxeral gatherings have a great influence on 
our character and life. When one of a family, or 
any circle of associates, falls in death, all pause 
and gather for an hour about the deserted frame 
that held his spirit. In halls of legislation, in 
court rooms, in chambers of commerce, men in 
every walk of life think and speak as they do 
nowhere else. The earthly life, the human virtues, 
of the departed come up in a review that is impar- 
tial, and therefore just, while it is generous. 

Then, too, the mind of every man looks forward. 
The world beyond the grave becomes real and 
palpably impressive. We speak, we think of the 
abode of the spirits of men, and of the home to 
which the departed is gone. We become sincere 
then ; scepticism, if ever cherished, vanishes as a 
state of mind as unfounded as it is unnatural. 
How these stirring convictions, in the minds of 
us all, were realized in the utterance of the pro- 
foundly wise King of Israel, twenty-eight cen- 
turies ago, in the words : " It is better to go to 
the house of mourning than to the house of feast- 
ing. This is the end of all men. The living will 
lay it to heart; and by the sadness of the 
countenance the heart will be made better." 



28 

This thought in the house of mourning, around 
the lifeless form of a fallen comrade, turns to- 
wards the spirit's condition ; while Ave remember 
the departed and dimly imagine his present state. 
Then our judgment controls for a time our im- 
pulses; and Ave feel that to be decided in our 
religious convictions and actions, is iioav the only 
important interest. In religious conviction, it 
should be recognized, men of true thought pre- 
serve the same reticence as on other matters of 
profound and vitally important consideration. It 
is only to an intimate in the same line of study or 
occupation, that the enterprising merchant, the 
judicious statesman, opens the secrets of his deep 
conviction. It is only to his or her physician or 
pastor that the private suil'erings and soitoavs of 
those Avho seem to he free from all trouble are 
known. And here one of the most important of 
practical questions is pressed on our considera- 
tion. 

There is a power at work in our land, mightier 
than all the intellectual and moral influences that 
ever controlled a great people. It never A\as 
imagined in ancient India, Greece, or Rome ; and 
it has been but partially known in the history of 
modern Europe. It is the profound conviction of 
the mass of leading minds among us, that there is 
a truth and a grace in the religion of Jesus Christ, 
never yet realized in any of its professed ad he- 



29 

rents. It has ever been a marked feature in the 
history of this Divine gift to man, even from its 
first announcement, that among its most intelli- 
gent and weighty promoters have been the men 
who never openly professed the Christian faith. 
AY r hen John first preached repentance and faith in 
Him to come, we read of Herod, the thoughtful 
though impulsive tetrarch of Galilee, that he 
"feared John, knowing that he was a just man 
and a holy ; and he observed him ; and when he 
heard him he did many things and heard him 
gladly." And who can forget that the chief 
mourners, the pall-bearers of our Redeemer him- 
self, were two Senators of Israel : ISTicodemus, 
who came to converse with him at night at the 
very opening of his ministry, and who defended 
him under Jewish law when he was arraigned ; 
and with him, Joseph of Arimathea, " a disciple 
of Jesus, though secretly" ? AVhat a scene was 
that — what a profound testimony — when, though 
his simpler-minded and sincere disciples forsook 
him through fear, these noble senators, who never 
had professed their faith in him, bore his Divine 
form in the dim evening twilight, to its resting- 
place ! It is the more instructive because it was 
a true foreshadowing of what has ever since been 
true. 

John, who wrote after the Jewish State had 
fallen, and its chief families perished, and who 



30 

alone mentions what otherwise would have been 
a betrayal of confidence — John writes, " many 
of the chief rulers also believed on him; but 
because of the Pharisees they did not confess 
him." Why did the guiding spirit prompt the 
beloved disciple in his old age to reveal this fact, 
unless it were to intimate the truth, that the hesi- 
tation which constrains men of the most profound 
convictions, who never profess the Christian faith, 
arises from that keen sense of responsibility, 
which is all the more fearful of personal assump- 
tion, because of the manifold imperfection of those 
claiming to represent religious sentiment?' Here 
a long array of facts in Christian history comes 
up in review ; while, too, their deep principle 
assumes an aspect which in a land like ours should 
he duly weighed, and be joyfully accepted. 

When the great apostle of Jesus proclaimed the 
gospel of Christ, the leaders in thought and action 
were his most enthusiastic hearers. Sererius Pau- 
lusj the Roman governor of Cyprus, "a prudent 
man,''' sent for him, and "desired to hear the word 
of God more perfectly;" Dionysius, the Athenian 
senator, "believed and clave to him;" Felix, the 
governor of Judea, wished a "more perfect know- 
ledge" of his message, and when he heard him 
again, he trembled, and determined at a future 
season to follow his teaching; while King Agrippa, 
the able Jewish historian, as well as Roman states- 



31 

man, declared, "Almost thou persuadest me to be 
a Christian." 

So, too, all along down the history of the ad- 
vancing nations who received the religion of Christ, 
what mean such examples as shine out on its every 
page ! Constantine, led as a youth to believe in 
the divine origin of the Christian faith, because 
when his father, the emperor, indignant one day 
at the corruption of some of his officers, demanded 
of a priest of the old religion, "Where are the 
men that can be trusted?" the honest reply was 
wrung from trembling lips, " The Christians arc 
the trusty men." Constantine, studying Christ's 
life and teachings till he embraced them; advo- 
cating their claim all his lifetime, yet scandalized 
beyond measure by the bitter contest of the op- 
posing parties in the church, never professes his 
faith till just before his death. What, again, arc 
avc to judge as to Grotius, called " latitudinarian" 
in the times of Calvinistic controversy, and yet 
spending his old age in writing the most complete 
demonstration of the divine doctrines of the Chris- 
tian religion that the world perhaps possesses! 
What, indeed, shall we infer from the spirit of 
men like Rousseau, opposing, not Christianity, but 
the corruptions of its professors ; even exclaiming, 
"Socrates died indeed as a philosopher, Jesus 
Christ died as a God" ! Its meaning is learned in 
the counter fact of the power wielded by such 



sincere .and heavenly spirits, after Ihe likeness of 
Paul the apostle, as Chrysostom at the Roman 
Capitol, and of Fenelon at the French court. And 
where shall we stop in this enumeration? If 
any centre of mighty interests has ever fully at- 
tested this important fact in history, it is our city; 
conspicuous for the reality of the religious influ- 
ences which it has ever witnessed. Never perhaps 
was there seen such a testimonial of the inherent 
truth of the gospel as this; that, in a land where 
the church is entirely severed from the State, and 
where no motive hut a man's oavii sincere con- 
viction can inlluence his act, scarcely one of the 
great leaders in American society is to he found 
who has not in word and act reverenced in his 
active life the religion of Jesus; while .in the 
evening of their days the majority of our chief 
magistrates, our great statesmen, and our men of 
thought and enterprise have publicly professed 
their faith by union with the Christian church. 

Perhaps now the principle which underlies this 
great fact deserves our consideration. The reli- 
gion of Jesus Christ makes all outward forms but 
symbols of an inward spirit. What an announce- 
ment that of Christ's, "The kingdom of heaven is 
within you"! His sermon on the Mount demands 
a righteousness greater than that which any man 
ever possessed; even "the righteousness of the 
kingdom of God" itself. It demands that we be 



o3 

" perfect even as our Heavenly Father is perfect." 
Who can attain, who has possessed in the past or 
can aspire to reach in the future, that perfection ol 
angels which all in heaven possess ! Where is 
there any hope but in the gospel revelation; which 
proclaims trust in the merits of our Divine lie- 
deemer for the blotting: out of transgressions in the 
past, and reliance on the Divine Spirit's power 
"to work in us," in the future, "to will and to do 
all God's good pleasure" ! Is it possible that a 
thoughtful man, looking forward to the world of 
spirits, can imagine " any other name under heaven 
among men whereby we must be saved" ? Men 
that think at all, men that have any trust at all, 
find this hope to be an anchor to the soul, sure and 
steadfast ! 

Is it to be wondered, now, that in our national re- 
ligious life, in our social, domestic, and individual 
intercourse, all should find, that, while many 
with perhaps too little thought profess themselves 
disciples of Christ, very many with perhaps too 
much thought of their own insufficiency, never, 
until in ripe old age, can avow their simple faith 
in Jesus Christ ! Is it wonder that so many great, 
earnest, enthusiastic leaders in those enterprises 
which develop the fruits of Christ's religion give 
a testimony far surpassing that of many profess- 
ing their devotion ; their failing, among a race all 
at fault, being this, that they never can bring 



34 

themselves to profess so high a calling as that of 
a complete Christian consecration. 

May not such a survey be timely in this house 
of mourning? May not its consideration make all 
our hearts better? May it not prompt a new con- 
viction that greater fidelity to our duty of love to 
(<<>d and our fellow is a present demand, and that 
true repentance for past neglect and humble faith 
in God's grace should be our immediate resort? 

General Hiram Walbridge, born in February, 
1821, not yet attained to fifty years, though a 
native of New York, reared in Ohio, then prac- 
tising his profession and attaining his wealth and 
honor in two distant States, has been especially 
an esteemed and admired citizen of our District. 
He is, therefore, known to us, and his character 
has been deeply read. His intellectual power 
was of a high order ; his limited early education, 
his completion of his law studies at nineteen, 
his being chosen representative in New York at 
the age of thirty-two, his conception in advance 
of his age of the Pacific railroad, his selection as 
president of the first great commercial conven- 
tions of our country, his wonderfully comprehen- 
sive grasp of national issues, and the heroism 
with which he sacrificed himself during his 
months of failing health to great public benefac- 
tions — all these reveal the man of no ordinary 
compass of mind. His universal courtesy and 



35 

urbanity, his finish and power as a popular 
speaker, all spoke of the man of true culture. 
His devotion to the interests of the capital of his 
country, a city which bears the name of its 
adored founder, whose prosperity he justly con- 
ceived was allied to the nation's reverence for the 
father of his country, his charity abounding in 
every public benefaction, all spoke of a great 
heart and noble soul. 

And what thought he of that relation higher 
than any earthly, and of that world of purity for 
which no man in himself is prepared? It was 
revealed and made fully manifest to those who 
knew him well and watched at his last bedside. 

In his mature life at Washington, General 
Walbridge always spoke with enthusiasm of his 
esteem for Rev. Dr. Gurley, the pastor of his re- 
vered mother. No man could really admire the 
preaching and personal acquaintance of such a 
man and such a preacher as Dr. Gurley, who had 
not a deeper love for the simple gospel of Christ 
than a mere outward profession sometimes pro- 
claims. General Walbridge was always fond of 
conversation in private on the subject of personal 
religious duty. His last hours showed what con- 
victions always dwelt as a hidden fountain in his 
breast, ready to break forth when their depths 
should be stirred and the vent be opened. "When 
he had passed through the excruciating agony of 



36 

surgical operations for the acute disease which 
wore out his life in a few short days, his Christian 
profession was as manly as his heroic meeting of 
suffering. 

Refusing to take chloroform, he looked on 
calmly at the mutilation of the surgeon's knife 
which made others shudder. When convinced 
by his own feelings and the assurance of his 
physician that he must soon sink under the 
exhaustion of pain, he called for pen and paper, 
dictated his last will, and then signed it. His 
duty to his family and the world discharged, 
all his thought turned upwards. To his wife, 
Avho spoke of his apparent approaching death, 
and asked forgiveness for any unintentional fault, 
he exclaimed, " O, it is I that need forgiveness 
of God." When asked if he believed in Jesus as 
his Saviour, he said, " Yes, I do believe in Him; 
I have been thinking much during the time of my 
sickness about death and of preparation for it." 
Those words are the sincere expression of convic- 
tions that control thousands of men like him. 
They are testimony to a power which will save 
our country, or any land whose leaders are con- 
trol led not by a profession reluctantly demanded, 
but by a faith that all through manhood sways 
them as by an invisible bond. 

Let the lessons of our dear departed friend's 
death go with us from this place. 



37 

He has fallen, and we, too, shall soon go. Let 
those inward convictions of our religious need, 
and of the world's only hope, be cherished. Let 
us never do thoughtless despite to the spirit of 
grace, the sincere convictions of childhood. 

He has left a void by his decease. There is a 
vacancy behind, a desolation in the home. It is a 
void the world can never fill. Thank God, as we 
all grow older Ave look less to the world for com- 
panionship and support. Thank God, there is a 
friend closer than a brother. 

He has left a lesson. We love too much this 
earth, and so often lose the object of our pursuit. 
How many destroy their own power by the very 
weight of care and the strain of noble endeavor. 
]S T o end but a rare one can justify self-immolation. 
Let a true Avisdom so temper our ambition that 
"our moderation" shall shine as a chief virtue. 

"We all need a guidance and support that come 
from One higher than Ave. What a boon in the 
Avords, "Seek first the Kingdom of God and 
its righteousness, and all these things shall be 
added to you." May that Avisdom from above, 
that Kingdom of Heaven, be Avithin us. 



The folloAving letter of General Walbridge illus- 
trates his attachment to his parents' pastor : — 






38 

Inoleside, I). C, Nov. 26, I860. 
My dear Doctor : — 

On behalf of our dear mother and brothers, 
I cordially thank yon for the many kindnesses yon 
extended to father during- his recent fatal illness. 

The testimony yon have borne to his many 
virtues will always be gratefully remembered by 
all of us, since you had ample opportunities to 
know the purity, the gentleness, and the integrity 
and uprightness of his life. 

That happiness and health may always be yours 

and that of your estimable family, is our sincere 

wish. 

Truly, 

H. WALBRIDGE. 

KEV. DR. GURLEY. 



39 



TO THE GRAVE. 

The services concluded, the funeral cortege 
moved off in the following order: In front two 
mounted policemen, carriages containing the un- 
dertakers, hody-bearers (eight in number), clergy, 
p;dl-bearers, hearse, relatives, President of the 
United States, Cabinet officers, Senators, members 
of Congress, and friends of the family. The pro- 
cession moved down the road to Fourteenth Street 
as far as K, and thence by K Street and Lincoln 
Avenue to Glenwood Cemetery. 

The grave was six feet deep, walled with brick, 
and when the coffin was lowered down to its final 
resting-place, smooth stone slabs were placed 
above and closely cemented together. The funeral 
service was very feelingly read by Rev. Mr. Buck. 
The General was laid with his feet to his father's 
grave, in a spacious lot on Grand Avenue, near 
the centre of the cemetery. Here both his parents 
take their eternal repose, and here the son has 
been laid to rest after a useful, honorable, but 
sadly premature existence. 

Over his grave friends and admirers paid their 
last sad tribute of regard, and political opponents 
were there, who, coming together in dissension, 
went away in harmony. 



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